The Turning Time

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

The Freyan Trilogy, a fantasy series that began with Wind Shifter (1995)
and continued with Sea Change (1999), comes to a most satisfying but
somewhat open-ended conclusion in The Turning Time, which is
chronologically organized by seasons, commencing in autumn and
concluding the following summer.

Fall finds Kerstin Speller, now 17, reunited with her fellow apprentice
wizard, Alaric Thatcher, as they both attend the Freyan College of
Wizards. The feelings of jealousy which Kerstin had experienced toward
the conclusion of Sea Change find a face when Alaric brings with him
three Uglessian students, with one of them, Redelle, being a female for
whom Alaric obviously has strong feelings. Although the events in the
trilogy’s opening volume had seemingly brought peace between the
nations of Uglessia and Freya, three short years of uneasy harmony
cannot immediately undo five centuries of enmity and suspicion between
the two peoples. When it is incorrectly reported in Uglessia that
Redelle has been killed by a Freyan mob, vengeful Uglessians raid Freyan
border communities, thereby threatening the fragile peace. Only an act
of extreme self-sacrifice by one of the Uglessian students provides both
nations with an opportunity to avoid war.

Readers unfamiliar with the earlier titles in the trilogy will not be
disadvantaged for Smith begins the final volume with the chapter, “The
Story So Far.” Young-adult students, especially those who have been
recently introduced to the fantasy genre, will enjoy the very
well-written Freyan Trilogy. Highly recommended.